Paul Finishes 2011 Strong With $13 Million Haul

Mere minutes before the campaign finance filing deadline, Ron Paul reported raising $13.3 million for his presidential bid in the fourth quarter of 2011, an amount larger than his previous three quarter's contributions combined.

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul raised $13.3 million for his presidential bid in the fourth quarter of 2011, an amount larger than the previous three quarter's contributions combined, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday night.

It's unclear how Paul's campaign balance has fared so far in 2012, considering former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich's recent surge, and Paul's disappointing fourth place finish in South Carolina. The Paul campaign elected not to actively play in Florida, a "winner-take-all" state with an expensive media market that would have required millions of dollars to stay competitive.

Paul is famous for his grassroots fundraising efforts, and the fourth quarter was no different. Of the $13.3 million collected in the final months of the year, $7.3 million was reported as unitemized, meaning that more than half of the donations collected in the final quarter came from donors contributing less than $200. FEC law requires any donor giving more than $200 to be detailed in campaign finance filings; this means the majority of the money Paul raised cannot be traced back to specific individuals.

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